


Time Limits

by Amariahellcat



Series: Arisa Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Biotic Shepard, Established Relationship, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Interspecies Relationship(s), Mass Effect 2, No Shepard without Vakarian, Not Really Goodbye, Paragon Commander Shepard, Post-Mass Effect 2: Arrival, Post-Suicide Mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 09:51:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11734584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amariahellcat/pseuds/Amariahellcat
Summary: They survive the Suicide Mission - all of them, they made it - and for a brief moment, things seem right.But that’s never how life goes, is it?





	Time Limits

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last of the ME2 fics - and the last of the spam for the moment omg I'm sorry guys ;;.
> 
> Enjoy ♥

_This was it. This was the final fight, the last stand - whatever awaited them was the last challenge, the greatest threat._

_She can only take two with her - her standard squad size, less likely to draw unneeded attention - and the rest have to stay behind, hold the line._

_It kills her, having to leave so many behind. They have to survive. They **have**  to._

_Or else her soul will die regardless of whether her body lives._

_Tali and Kasumi. Picked because they can move fast, move quietly - and because if left behind, she has a terrible feeling that they will die._

_Yet that leaves one specific person in the rear guard, fighting without her. And she knows it’s for the best - knows that having him there **will**  help them all survive - but it still hurts to do it._

_So she grabs him briefly, once she’s given her final rousing speech, pulling him to the side quickly and not giving a damn if anyone see’s at this point._

_“Survive, Garrus.” Arisa tries to keep her voice steady, gaze strong, despite the slight tremor running through her, “That’s an order.”_

_“Is that so, Commander?” Garrus’ voice is cheeky, but his expression is determined, one hand gripping his sniper rifle as the other brushes her shoulder._

_“Protect the others. Keep them alive if you can. But above all, keep **yourself**  alive.” her brave exterior falters, just briefly, “Please, Garrus.”_

_“Only if you do the same.” he rumbles, and then bends, and he catches her by surprise when instead of pressing his forehead to hers he brushes his mouth plates against her lips - the best approximation of a kiss he can give, one they’d figured out the night before._

_The voices of their comrades and the sounds of the Collectors attacking the doors breaks them apart, Garrus returning to the squad with his gun ready and Arisa leading Tali and Kasumi on, weapons drawn._

_‘We **will**  survive. All of us. We will  **win**  this.’_

* * *

 Three hours after taking down the Collectors, Arisa lays in bed staring at the ceiling.

She can’t quite believe they made it - the entirety of the Crew and all of her Squad members,  _everyone made it_  - and it’s taking awhile to process. That she managed to save all of them is a miracle.

_Not the colonists, though. You couldn’t save them._

And that’s why she’s hiding in her cabin instead of joining the party in the Mess. Because she couldn’t save  _everyone_.

_That’s life, that’s how wars work._  She knows this. She’s been in the military long to have had that drilled into her, to be grateful for those she  _could_  save.

_I couldn’t save them. But I stopped the Collectors from taking anyone else._

That was an accomplishment to be proud of, right? She knew that.

Yet she just doesn’t feel like going to the party. They’d delayed the Reapers again, but they had not stopped them. Not yet.

More then that, she is  _exhausted_. Physically and mentally. She feels like she hasn’t stopped running since Cerberus brought her back; racing against time to prevent any more colonists from being taken, any more deaths from happening.

Arisa shivers, briefly regretting her decision to strip down to only a tanktop and panties - before opening her omnitool and sending off a quick message, closing her eyes and relaxing back into the pillows.

Just a simple invitation, a quick affirmation of interest. He could decline and she wouldn’t act any differently - if he wanted to stay and enjoy the party, she wouldn’t blame him.

Likewise, if once was enough for him - if he’d decided, now, that he didn’t want to continue - she would relent.

They could go back to being friends. She didn’t  _want_  to, but she would never force her own desires on him.

So her heart jumps when the doors of her cabin  _whoosh_  open, keeping her eyes shut but listening intently to the familiar footsteps coming down the stairs and crossing towards her.

They stop at the end of the bed, and finally Arisa forces her eyes open, giving her visitor a slow, lazy grin that hopefully hides just how damn  _happy_  she is that he’s there.

Garrus’ mandibles flare wide in a smirk, and she hadn’t been aware of holding her breath until then.

“Garrus.” she greets simply, coyly, still unsure where exactly they stand, what he wants.

“Arisa.” he hums back and  _damn_ , that hits her a lot harder than she’d expected, furtively hoping she’s not blushing or emoting to obviously.

There’s lots of things she’d  _like_  to say, but she’s not sure  _how_  to say them. Instead, she maintains her grin, extending a hand, “C’mere, Big Guy.”

Garrus chuckles and obeys, climbing carefully on the bed to settle gently over her, head bent to bump his forehead against hers.

Arisa sighs happily, letting her eyes slip closed again as she nuzzles back at him, eyes opening soon after when she’s unsuccessful in undoing his tunic.

Garrus makes a sound of amusement, mandibles tickling at her cheek when he speaks, “Having trouble, Shepard?”

“You’re overdressed.” she mutters, giving a ‘hmph’ and flopping back into the pillows when he starts undoing the clasps for her.

“You know, I  _wondered_  why you weren’t at the party,” the awkwardness from earlier - Gods, it was still the same day, wasn’t it? - seems to have left him, the Turian easily stripping away the top half of his outfit, “Now I see you had…  _other_  plans.”

“Not up to dealing with a drunk squad tonight.” Arisa ghosts her hands over the sensitive skin of his waist, smirking at the low growl that escapes him, “Thought I would… extend an invite.”

“No complaints from me.” Garrus flings his tunic behind him and slides his hands over her hips, talons running carefully over her skin as he pushes her tanktop up, “Though I, uh, wasn’t sure you’d be  _interested_  in another go…”

Much as she wants to just lay back and enjoy his touch, there’s a note to his voice that seems off. “Garrus, last time was  _amazing_  - a few bumps, sure, but still easily the best sex I’ve had. Why wouldn’t I be interested?”

“Well, if it was just, you know,  _blowing off steam_  before the big mission, I, uh,” his hands are still on her waist, warm on her skin, but he doesn’t move, looking suddenly sheepish, “I wouldn’t hold it against you. Y’know, if it was a one time thing.”

Arisa just stares at him for a moment, processing what he’d said… and then laughing and wondering how the  _hell_  they had managed to find each other in all this mess.

“We’re fucking idiots,” she mutters, grinning up at the surprised Turian, “Here I was worried that  _you_  wouldn’t be interested in continuing… whatever this is.”

“Continuing?” he echoes, and she sees his mandibles flare wide, hears a humm from his sub-vocals that she thinks means  _hope_ , “As in… beyond…?”

“You’re my best friend, Garrus.” Arisa smiles, letting herself be open for once, “But… you’re also  _more_  than that. Even before we…  _tangoed_ , earlier. Since the SR1, really.”

The humming intensifies at that, his head cocked adorably, “But… what about Kaidan and Liara?”

“Liara’s one of my closest friends… but that’s it. And Kaidan was never my type.” Arisa lets her smile turn cocky, arching her back and pressing into his to-still hands, “I apparently have a thing for scarred, sarcastic Turians who take their calibrating  _far too seriously_.”

“Would’ve been good to know,” Garrus drawls, sub-vocals singing a tune she can’t understand as he bends, nuzzling his forehead against hers again, “Turns out, I’ve got a thing for redheaded humans who out-stubborn everything. Including  _death_.”

“Well… considering we survived Hell, and there aren’t any pressing missions at this time,” Arisa slips her arms up and around his neck, scratching her nails lightly over the skin beneath his fringe and grinning at the near purr that leaves him, “What say we make up for lost time?”

“Deal.” Garrus groans, bending to kiss her, and the rest of the night flies by without a care in the world.

* * *

 A month later, Arisa salutes Admiral Hackett and leaves the Med Bay silently, the picture of professional understanding.

The mask lasts until the elevator has passed by the other floors and reached her own, sucking in a sharp breath to hold back the sudden sadness, the angry resignation.

She’d  _tried_ , dammit, and yes, they’d lost a system but she’d delayed the Reapers.  _Again_.

Did she regret the loss of those lives? Of course - she wouldn’t have tried to warn the colonists to evacuate if she hadn’t - but there hadn’t been any other way. Dr. Kenson and her people were indoctrinated… if she’d let them continue, the Reapers would have already arrived.

Waiting for the Alliance to call her in really wasn’t an option - knowing them, they would wait until she was in some far flung corner of the galaxy and then use the delay against her somehow.

So no, she couldn’t wait. She’d already pinged Joker to set a course for Earth -  _take a long route, but head for Earth, I’ll explain later_  - and right now, there was only one person she wanted to see.

No matter how much she didn’t want to tell him.

Garrus was waiting in her rooms as she’d expected he would be, sitting on the edge of the bed but looking as though he’d just settled there. Knowing him, he’d probably been pacing, waiting since she’d gone after Dr. Kenson on her own two days before.

Arisa just jogs down the stairs, hurries across the room, and practically flings herself at him, pushing him back onto the bed and just… clinging.

Garrus lets out a surprised  _oof_  before tucking pillows beneath him and wrapping his arms tight around her, humming at her, “What happened?”

He doesn’t ask if she’s okay because he doesn’t need to; he can tell by her silence, by her expression, by how tense she is against him.

It’s one of the reasons she’s pretty sure she’s in love with him - terrifying and far too quickly as that is.

Arisa blows out a breath, nuzzles against his jaw, kisses his mandible.

Garrus only runs his hand over her back, talons pressing gently, humming beneath her.

Finally, she says “I have to go back to Earth. I… have to turn myself in, Garrus.”

His hand stills, confusion in the humm, “Turn yourself in?”

Arisa curls closer, eyes squeezed shut, “Went to find Kenson. Got her out. Reaper Artifact… they were all  _indoctrinated_ , Garrus. Every damn person on that Asteroid. And they had a countdown clock.”

“Countdown?”

“Got knocked out, they kept me sedated for two days. Woke up, fought my way through, stopped Kenson from blowing up the Asteroid.”

“Got knocked out  _again_  - have I mentioned how sick I am of getting knocked out? - woke up with  _30 minutes_  until the Asteroid was going to crash into the Relay. Tried to warn Colonists. Failed. Managed to get off Asteroid…”

Garrus’ hand resumes it’s soothing motions, humm nearly a croon, “…you didn’t have a choice, Arisa.”

“I delayed the Reapers again.” she mumbles, “But at what cost? All those lives…”

“…are a fraction of what would have been lost, if you hadn’t destroyed the Relay.” the humm takes on a slightly angry tone, “You deserve a damn  _medal_.”

“Hackett said the same thing.” an attempt at a laugh, “Instead, I get the feeling I’m going to be  _grounded_.”

“Probably no room for a Turian to stay with you, huh?”

Arisa snorts, “I doubt I’ll be allowed many visitors of any species, if I’m allowed  _any_. Who knows. And knowing them… the Normandy might get grounded, to.”

Garrus’s arms return to gripping her, then; a tight embrace, as though to fight against that reality. Arisa holds on just as tightly.

“Maybe… I’ll go back to Palaven.” he muses, a different sort of note to his sub-vocals, “Talk to my father. He’s close with the Primarch… maybe we can get a defense arranged.”

“I wish I could go with you.” she sits up long enough to start pulling off clothes, Garrus doing the same beneath her until they’re laying skin-to-skin, “Joker’s set course for Earth… I told him to take the long route, but…”

“We’ve got a time limit.” Garrus finishes for her, rolling so she’s beneath him, “Better make the most of it.”

“Mhm.” Arisa reaches up, ghosts a finger along his visor as an idea hits, “Hey… can you  _record_  video on your visor?”

“Yeah?”

“You should record this.” she trails the finger down along his cheek, following his mandible, “So you have something to remember me by.”

Garrus stares at her for a moment, even his sub-vocals gone silent, and she worries briefly that she’s crossed some sort of line in Turian Culture. Then the humm returns full force and he’s buried his face in her neck, pressing her close.

“You’ll get out of there eventually.” he mutters, determined, but the red recording light is on when he pulls back, mandibles flared in a smirk, “But I won’t say no to having some sort of evidence that this actually  _happened_.”

“Well, then,” Arisa smiles, forcing away the pain and focussing on the  _now_ , these last few hours with the Turian who’s somehow stealthily taken control of her heart, “Let’s not waste anymore time.”

Later on, when they reach Earth, Garrus will help her get ready; donning her Dress Uniform and making herself presentable, making sure everything is in order with the Crew, the Squad, her Cabin.

They don’t say goodbye. They don’t say anything.

Because this isn’t the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments make my day! ♥


End file.
